Walsh Style Responses: Bypassing Diamonds Over 1 Club

Walsh style is a way of responding to partner's 1♣ opening: with a weak or moderate hand, you bid a four-card major before a longer diamond suit, and you respond 1♦ only when you have no major or are strong enough to bid again. In short, you "bypass diamonds" so the major is shown while you still have the chance.

It is not really a convention, because every bid stays natural. It is a style that changes which suit you show first, and it changes what opener's 1NT rebid means. Walsh is common in 2/1 Game Force partnerships, and the ACBL convention card has a "Bypass 5+" box next to the 1♦ response so you can tell the opponents you play it. This guide shows the rules for responder, the rebids for opener, the variations to agree on, and a deal where it matters.

The idea is credited to Dick Walsh, an American expert of the 1960s, and the style carries his name. His point was about frequency and danger. When partner opens 1♣, you often hold a hand worth only one bid. If you spend that one bid on 1♦, the opponents may jump in with 2♥ or 2♠, and your major may never be heard. A four-card major fit is worth far more than a diamond fit, because it can play game at the four level instead of the five.

The same thinking appeared in other American methods of the time. The Kaplan-Sheinwold system, for example, also told responder to show a four-card major first with a weak or moderate hand and a longer side suit first only with game values.

Partner opens 1♣. Here is what you respond in Walsh style:

The key line is the first one. With ♠Q1073 ♥84 ♦KJ952 ♣63 you respond 1♠, not 1♦. If opener has four spades, you have found your fit at once. If not, you have shown your best feature and can let the auction die.

How strong is strong enough to bid diamonds first? This is the one number to agree on. The classic rule is game-forcing values: if you know you will get a second bid no matter what, you can afford to start with diamonds. Some pairs also bid 1♦ first with five or more diamonds and invitational values. Either works if you both know it.

Walsh changes opener's job too. After 1♣ - 1♦, responder either has no four-card major or has a game-forcing hand that will show the major later. So opener does not need to show a four-card major on a balanced hand:

The 1NT rebid is the big gain. With ♠KQ84 ♥J73 ♦A6 ♣Q952, opener rebids 1NT after 1♦, not 1♠. Responder knows the hand is balanced and 12-14, and the opening leader learns nothing about the spades. If responder holds four spades as well, he has a strong hand and will bid them next, so the fit is not lost.

It also works the other way: opener's 1♥ or 1♠ rebid after 1♦ now promises an unbalanced hand, so responder can give preference to clubs with confidence instead of guessing.

After 1♣ - 1♥, partnerships split.

• Basic version: opener bids 1♠ with four spades and rebids 1NT only without them. Simple, and no spade fit is missed.
• Expert version: opener rebids 1NT with any balanced 12-14, even with four spades, and saves 1♠ for unbalanced hands. Responder, holding four spades with invitational or better values, looks for the fit with a checkback bid such as New Minor Forcing or XYZ.

The expert version gives away less to the defense, but a weak responder with both majors can miss a 4-4 spade fit. Pick one and write it down. Walsh style itself, the bypass by responder, works the same way in both.

South holds a weak 4-3-5-1 hand. In Walsh style, South responds 1♠, bypassing the longer diamonds. West overcalls 2♥ on a strong six-card suit, and North, with four spades, raises to 2♠. Everyone passes.

Double dummy, 2♠ makes nine tricks for +140, and West's 2♥ would have gone down.

Now replay it without Walsh: 1♣ - 1♦ - 2♥. North has a minimum with four spades and no clear bid, because a 2♠ bid here would usually show extra strength. If North passes, South with 6 points and a singleton club is unlikely to act at the two level, and West plays 2♥. The spade fit is lost because South spent the one bid on diamonds. That is the whole case for Walsh in one deal.

Nothing is free:

1. Diamond fits get lost on weak hands. If you bypass five diamonds and opener has four, you may miss a diamond partscore. Diamond partscores score less than major partscores, so most players accept this.
2. Opener's 1NT rebid is wider. It may hold a four-card major, so responder must think before passing with a 4-4 fit in mind.
3. One extra agreement. You must agree what strength lets responder bid diamonds first, and what opener's 1NT rebid after 1♣ - 1♥ means.

For most 2/1 partnerships the trade is worth it, which is why Walsh is so widespread. If you also play inverted minors, remember that the raise of clubs denies a four-card major, and Walsh points you the same way: majors first.

Once the opponents come in, the bypass matters even more. After 1♣ (1♦), a negative double usually shows both majors, and 1♥ or 1♠ shows four or more cards (some pairs want five) and is forcing. After 1♣ (Pass) 1♥ (2♠), opener with four hearts raises, and without them may pass with a minimum. The point of Walsh is that your major is already on the table before this happens.

To check how a system reads the bypass, see what 1♦ means in every system on the bid meaning page, then practice it in the Bidding Room against robots. For the bigger picture of what responder does over every opening, see responding to opening bids.